In recent decades, there has been a huge increase in the number of impact evaluations of different approaches to reducing poverty. Despite this, if you are a policymaker, it is unlikely that there will be a rigorous impact evaluation that answers precisely the question you are facing in precisely the location in which you are facing it. So how do you draw on the available evidence, both from your local... Read More

In the United States, about 2.5 million students attend one of the approximately 6,500 publicly funded charter schools. However, until recently there has been little rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of these alternatives to traditional public schools. A new policy bulletin produced by J-PAL North America reviews results from 17 evaluations in the United States that used admissions lotteries to study the impact of charter schools on student test scores and... Read More

This year’s theme for World Malaria Day is “End Malaria for Good”—a theme that reflects the tremendous progress that has been made since 2000 in reducing the incidence of the disease, as well as a recognition that challenges remain. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2010 and 2015 alone, the rate of new malaria cases fell by 21% and malaria mortality rates fell by 29%. Yet in 2015,... Read More